Let's start with some facts:

When we are stressed, tired, or anxious, we become even more distracted. Intrusive thoughts working in the background keep pushing to the fore, pulling us away from what is supposed to be the primary focus of our attention.

Although pundits decry our lack of attention, blaming recent technological changes like phones, the truth is, maintaining focused attention has never been easy.

Distraction, is, after all, highly functional. We have evolved to be alert to danger; only in specific protected environments were humans at leisure to focus completely on a single task. We alert to any change in our environment. Ever wonder why TV ads are louder than the shows? Or why ads now frequently include phone alerts? It’s because it makes us look.

Developmental psychologists measure newborns’ ability to see new colors or understand numbers by their attention to novelty. Show a baby cards with four cats, four butterflies, four squares, four circles until they are bored and start to look around. Now show them a card with five cats. Their eyes snap to the picture. Why? Because novelty distracts them and captures their attention.........

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